Method and system for determining a position of a mobile communication device

ABSTRACT

A GNSS enabled mobile device transmits to a location server a combination of GNSS-based location data and non-GNSS based location data used to determining reference positions at the location server. The GNSS mobile device receives the determined reference positions from the location server to calculate an associated GNSS position fix. The transmitted GNSS-based location data comprises GNSS position fixes associated with the GNSS enabled mobile device. The transmitted non-GNSS-based location data comprises a serving Cell-ID, neighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, timing advance parameters, and/or a mobile country code. Reference positions associated with the serving Cell-ID are determined and/or refined based on location information acquired from each of associated mobile devices. To respond to a reference position request from the GNSS enabled mobile device without an associated serving Cell-ID, the location server determines corresponding reference positions by combing subscriber population density with an associated MCC.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/394,416, filed on Feb. 27, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,094,067, issuedon Jan. 10, 2012, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 12/190,192 filed on Aug. 12, 2008.

The above stated applications are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to signal processing forcommunication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of theinvention relate to a method and system for determining a position of amobile communication device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Location based services (LBS) are emerging as a new type of value addedservice provided by mobile communication network. LBS are mobileservices in which the user location information is used in order toenable various LBS applications such as, for example, enhanced 911(E-911) services. A position of a mobile device is determined indifferent ways such as, for example, using network based technology,using terminal based technology, and/or hybrid technology (a combinationof the former technologies). Many positioning technologies such as, forexample, Cell of Origin (COO), Time of Arrival (TOA), Observed TimeDifference of Arrival (OTDOA), Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD)as well as the satellite-based systems such as the global positioningsystem (GPS), or Assisted GPS (A-GPS), are in place to estimate thelocation of the mobile device and convert it into a meaningful X, Ycoordinate for LBS applications.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and/or system for determining a position of a mobilecommunication device, substantially as shown In and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system thatenables determining a position of a mobile communication device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile device that isoperable to provide location information for mobile positioning, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary location server thatenables mobile positioning using location information from associatedmobile devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary call flow that illustrates exemplary determininga position of a mobile communication device using location information,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for dynamicallycomputing an uncertainty level with a fixed confidence level for aCell-ID based mobile positioning, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for refininguncertainty level with a fixed confidence level for a Cell-ID basedpositioning based on reported timing advance, in accordance with anembodiment of the Invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for providingCell-ID based mobile positioning based on reported neighbor cellfingerprinting, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for determining aposition of a mobile communication device based on combined MCC andsubscriber population centroid, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor determining a position of a mobile communication device. Inaccordance with various exemplary embodiments of the invention, a GNSSenabled mobile device may be enabled to generate GNSS-based locationdata and non-GNSS based location data and transmit a combination of thegenerated GNSS-based location data and non-GNSS based location data to alocation server for more accurate reference positions. The locationserver may be enabled to determine reference positions based on thetransmitted combination of the generated GNSS-based location data andnon-GNSS based location data. The determined reference positions may becommunicated to the GNSS enabled mobile device via a wirelesscommunication network. The GNSS enabled mobile device may be enabled toreceive the determined reference positions from the location server tocalculate an associated GNSS position fix.

The generated GNSS-based location data may comprise GNSS position fixesassociated with the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c. The generatednon-GNSS based location data may comprise a serving Cell-ID, one or moreneighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, timing advanceparameters, and/or a mobile country code. The neighbor cell fingerprintmay comprise signal strength, signal time delay, and/or a channelimpulse response measured for signals from the corresponding one or moreneighbor cells at the GNSS enabled mobile device. The location servermay be enabled to acquire and/or learn location information associatedwith the serving Cell-ID from the GNSS enabled mobile device as well asother served mobile devices associated with the location server. Thelocation server may be enabled to determine and/or refine referencepositions based on the acquired location information. The locationserver may be enabled to determine and/or refine reference positions invarious ways such as, for example, by correlating the serving Cell-IDwith GNSS position fixes, timing advance parameters, and/or neighborcell fingerprinting. The location server may be enabled to adaptivelycompute an uncertainty level with a fixed confidence of the determinedand/or refined reference positions. The uncertainty level may bedetermined based on the acquired location information such as GNSSposition fixes and/or timing advance parameters associated with theserving Cell-ID. To respond to a reference position request from theGNSS enable mobile device without an associated serving Cell-ID, thelocation server may be configured to identify subscriber populationdensity of an associated mobile country code (MCC) via the wirelesscommunication network. The combination of the identified subscriberpopulation density and the associated MCC may be utilized to determinecorresponding reference positions associated with the GNSS enabledmobile device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system thatenables determining a position of a mobile communication device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1,there is shown a communication system 100 comprising a plurality ofcells, of which a cell 110 and a cell 120 are displayed, a wirelesscommunication network 130, a location server 140, an IP network 150, aLBS application server 160, and a GNSS satellite infrastructure 170, ofwhich GNSS satellites 170 a-170 c are displayed. A plurality of mobiledevices, of which a GNSS enabled smart phone 110 a, a GNSS enablednotebook computer 110 b, and a GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c aredisplayed, may be located within the cell 110. The cell 120 comprises aplurality of mobile devices, of which a GNSS enabled smart phone 120 a,a GNSS enabled notebook computer 120 b, and a GNSS enabled cell phone120 c are displayed.

The cell 110 and/or the cell 120 comprise geographical areas covered byassociated base stations. A cell such as the cell 110 may be identifiedby a unique cell identifier, which is referred to as the Cell-ID. Aplurality of served mobile devices such as, for example, the GNSSenabled smart phone 110 a, the GNSS enabled notebook computer 110 b, andthe GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c, may be located in the cell 110.

A served mobile device such as the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c maycomprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may be enabled tocommunicate with the wireless communication network 130 as well as theGNSS satellite infrastructure 170. The GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c maybe capable of transmitting and/or receiving radio signals across thewireless communication network 130 compatible with varioustelecommunication standards such as, for example, 3GPP, 3GPP2, WiFi, andWiMAX. The GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may be enabled to receive GNSSsignals from a plurality of GNSS satellites such as the GNSS satellites170 a through 170 c to determine a position fix associated with the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c. A quick position fix for the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c may be determined based on reference position informationacquired from the location server 140.

The reference position information may be acquired in various ways suchas cell-ID based and/or MCC code based. In this regard, to improve theaccuracy of reference positions acquired from the location server 140,the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may be enabled to generate locationdata, which may be communicated to the location server 140. Theuncertainty level with a fixed confidence level of the acquiredreference positions may be adaptive to various location informationcaptured, determined and/or learned from a plurality of mobile devicesassociated with the location server 140. The location information may begenerated by associating a serving Cell-ID with latitude and longitude(Lat, Lon) of the determined GNSS position fix, timing advance (TA)parameters, and/or neighbor cell information. The neighbor cells may bethe cells within a vicinity of the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c. Ininstances where a particular Cell-ID may not be indicated in a referenceposition request, the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may be enabled togenerate location data comprising an associated mobile country code(MCC) and provide to the location server 140.

The wireless communication network 130 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that may be enabled to support various voiceand/or data services to various served mobile devices such as the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c in the cell 110 and the smart phone 120 a inthe cell 2, respectively. The wireless communication network 130 may beoperable to support various telecommunication standards such as, forexample, CDMA 2000, WCDMA, GSM, UMTS, LTE, WiFi, and/or WiMAXcommunication standards. The wireless communication network 130 may beenabled to communicate various LBS applications from the LBS applicationserver 160 to a plurality of served mobile devices such as the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c via the Internet 140 and the wirelesscommunication network 130, respectively.

The location server 140 may comprise suitable logic, devices and/or codethat may enable retrieval of location information for residential aswell as enterprise users. The location server 140 may be enabled toconvert retrieved location information into a meaningful X, Y coordinatefor various LBS applications provided by the LBS application server 160.The location server 140 may be enabled to determine various referencepositions associated with served mobile devices such as the GNSS enabledcell phone 110 c based on location data such as, for example, a servingCell-ID and/or an associated MCC. The location data may be providedeither directly by the wireless communication network 130 or by the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c via various signaling such as, for example, ashort message service (SMS). In various embodiments of the invention,in-band and/or out-of-band may be utilized to provide the locationinformation. The location server 140 may be enabled to acquire, captureor learn location information from the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c aswell as other associated mobile devices. The acquired locationinformation may comprise GNSS-based location data such as GNSS positionfixes, and/or non-GNSS based location data such as serving Cell-ID,neighbor Cell-IDs, TA parameters, and/or associated MCC.

The location server 140 may utilize the captured, determined and/orlearned location information to determine and/or refine referencepositions associated with a particular serving Cell-ID and/or aparticular MCC. For example, the location server 140 may correlate aparticular serving Cell-ID with associated GNSS position fixes, neighborCell-IDs, and/or associated TA parameters to determine referencepositions associated with the particular serving Cell-ID. Moreover, thelocation server 140 may be configured to determine reference positionsassociated with a particular MCC and assign to served mobile deviceswhen the corresponding serving Cell-ID may not be available. Thedetermined reference positions, whether a Cell-ID based or a MCC-based,may be communicated to the served mobile devices via the wirelesscommunication network 130. In the event that the particular servingCell-ID that a served mobile device is attached may be known to thelocation server 140, an adaptive uncertainty level with a fixedconfidence level may be computed and assigned to the determined and/orrefined reference positions associated with the particular servingCell-ID. The adaptive uncertainty level with the fixed confidence levelmay be determined based on captured, derived and/or learned locationinformation from each of associated mobile devices. In the event thatthe particular serving Cell-ID that the served mobile device is attachedmay not be known, the location server 140 may be enabled to determinereference positions of an associated MCC by combining with correspondingsubscriber population density centroid of the associated MCC.

The IP network 150 may comprise suitable logic, devices and/or code thatenables data communication via various network wired and/or wirelesstechnologies using internet protocols (IP). The IP network 150 may beoperable to provide communication between the LBS application server 160and a plurality of served mobile devices such as the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c.

The LBS application server 160 may comprise suitable logic, circuitryand/or code that Is enabled to retrieve various positioning informationsuch as, for example, a requested hotel addresses and a map of thevicinity of areas of interest. The LBS application server 160 may beenabled to communicate the retrieved positioning information withvarious mobile devices such as the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c basedon corresponding position fix.

The GNSS satellite infrastructure 170 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that provide navigation information to variousGNSS receivers. The GNSS receivers, which comprise GP, S, GALILEO and/orGLONASS receivers, are integrated within or externally coupled to themobile devices such as the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c.

In operation, various mobile devices such as, for example, the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c may be attached to a cell such as the cell 110to communicate with the wireless communication network 130. The GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c may be enabled to acquire GNSS signals from theGNSS satellite infrastructure 170. The acquired GNSS signals may be usedto calculate a GNSS position fix associated with the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c. To achieve a fast position fix, the GNSS enabled cell phone110 c may be enabled to acquire associated reference positions from thelocation server 140 by providing location information such as a servingCell-ID and/or an associated MCC. In this regard, the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c may be enabled to generate location data and communicatewith the location server 140 for more accurate reference positions. Thegenerated location data may be GNSS-based location data and/or non-GNSSbased location data. The generated GNSS-based location data may compriseGNSS position fixes. The generated non-GNSS-based location data maycomprise serving Cell-ID, neighbor Cell-IDs, GNSS position fixes, TAparameters, and/or associated MCC. For a particular Cell-ID of a cell inwhich the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c is located, the location server140 may be enabled to adaptively calculate an uncertainty level with afixed confidence level based on location information contributed fromeach of associated mobile devices to the location server 140. Thelocation server 140 may determine and/or refine reference positions withthe calculated uncertainty level and the fixed confidence level. Ininstances where a particular Cell-ID of a cell in which the GNSS enabledcell phone 110 c is located is unknown, the location server 140 may beenabled to determine reference positions of an associated MCC based oncorresponding subscriber population density centroid of the associatedMCC. The determined reference positions may be communicated to the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c via the wireless communication network 130. TheGNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may utilize the reference position toachieve a fast position fix for various LBS applications supported bythe LBS application server 160.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile device that isoperable to provide location information for mobile positioning, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2,there is shown a GNSS enabled mobile device 200 comprising an antenna202, a GNSS front end 204 a, a telecommunication front end 204 b, aprocessor 206, a reference position database 208, and a memory 210.

The antenna 202 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code thatmay be enabled to receive GNSS signals from a plurality of GNSSsatellites such as the GNSS satellites 170 a through 170 c and may becapable of transmitting and/or receiving radio signals via, for example,the wireless communication network 130. The antenna 202 may be a singleantenna for communicating GNSS signals from the GNSS satellite 170 athrough 170 c and radio signals from the wireless communication network130. The antenna 202 may comprise separate antenna communicating GNSSsignals from the GNSS satellite 170 a through 170 c and radio signalsfrom the wireless communication network 130, respectively.

The GNSS front end 204 a may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/orcode that may be enabled to receive GNSS satellite broadcast signals viathe antenna 202 and convert them to GNSS baseband signals, which may besuitable for further processing in the processor 206 for a navigationsolution.

The telecommunication front end 204 b may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that may be enabled to transmit and/or receiveradio signals over the wireless communication network 130 via theantenna 202 and convert them to corresponding baseband signals, whichmay be suitable for further processing in the processor 206.

The processor 206 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or codethat may be enabled to process received satellite signals as well assignals received from the wireless communication network 130. Theprocessor 206 may be configured to extract navigational information fromeach received GNSS signal to compute a position fix associated with theGNSS enabled mobile device 200. The processor 206 may be programmed tocalculate the position fix by combining local GNSS measurements and thereference position database 208. The processor 206 may be enabled toacquire reference positions associated with the GNSS enabled mobiledevice 200 from the location server 140. The processor 206 may beenabled to provide location information such as a serving Cell-ID and/oran associated MCC to the location server 140 at a time requestingreference positions. In this regard, the processor 206 may be enabled togenerate location data and communicate with the location server 140 formore accurate reference positions. The generated location data maycomprise GNSS-based location data such as associated GNSS positionfixes, and/or non-GNSS based location data such as serving Cell-ID,neighbor Cell-IDs, associated timing advance (TA) parameters, and/or anassociated MCC. In return, the processor 206 may be enabled to receiverefined reference positions associated with the GNSS enabled mobiledevice 200 from the location server 140.

The reference position database 208 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, and/or code that may be operable to manage and store datacomprising reference positions associated with the GNSS enabled mobiledevice 200. The contents in the reference position database 208 may beused as reference positions for GNSS calculations of the GNSS enabledmobile device 200. The contents in the reference position database 208may be updated as a needed base or periodically.

The memory 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code thatmay enable storing of information such as executable instructions anddata that may be utilized by the processor 206. The executableinstructions may comprise algorithms that may be enabled to calculate aposition fix using local GNSS measurements and/or reference positionsprovided by the reference position database 208. The data may compriselocal GNSS measurements and location data. The local GNSS measurementsmay be associated to the satellite signals directly received from theGNSS satellite 170 a through 170 c. The location data may compriseneighbor cell fingerprinting comprising measured neighbor signalstrength and/or signal time delay. The memory 210 may comprise RAM, ROM,low latency nonvolatile memory such as flash memory and/or othersuitable electronic data storage.

In operation, a plurality of signals may be received at the antenna 202coupled to the GNSS enabled mobile device 200. The received plurality ofsignals may be measured and communicated to the GNSS front end 204 a orthe telecommunication front end 204 b, respectively, depending on thetype of received signals. The GNSS front end 204 a may convert thereceived GNSS signals to corresponding baseband signals and communicateto the processor 206. The telecommunication front end 204 b may convertthe received telecommunication signals into corresponding basebandsignals and communicate to the processor 206. The receivedtelecommunication signals may comprise reference position data from thelocation server 140. The received reference position data may be storedin reference position database 208. For more accurate reference positiondata, the processor 206 may be enabled to generate location data andcommunicate with the location server 140 via the telecommunication frontend 204 b. The processor 206 may receive reference positions ofassociated serving Cell-10 or an associated MCC. The received referencepositions may be stored in the reference position database 208. Thereceived reference positions of the associated serving Cell-ID maycomprise an adaptive uncertainty level and a fixed confidence level. Thereceived reference positions of the associated MCC may be determinedbased on corresponding subscriber population density centroid of theassociated MCC. The processor 206 may be enabled to determine a positionfix associated with the GNSS enabled mobile device 200 based on thelocal GNSS measurements from the GNSS front end 204 a and/or receivedreference positions stored in the reference position database 208. Theprocessor 206 may determine the position fix associated with the GNSSenabled mobile device 400 using various algorithms stored in the memory210.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary location server thatenables mobile positioning using location information from associatedmobile devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a location server 300 comprising anantenna a processor 302, a positioning database 304, and a memory 306.

The processor 302 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or codethat may be enabled to process reference position requests from variousserved mobile devices such as the GNSS enabled mobile device 200. Theprocessor 302 may be operable to capture, determine and/or lean locationinformation such as, for example, Cell IDs and/or associated MCC, from aplurality of associated mobile devices. In this regard, the processor302 may be enabled to receive location information comprising servingCell ID, neighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, associatedGNSS position fixes, associated TA parameters, and/or associated MCC.The processor 302 may be enabled to utilize the captured, determinedand/or learned location information to determine and/or refine referencepositions of a particular serving Cell-ID and/or a particular MCC. Theprocessor 302 may be enabled to calculate uncertainty level adaptivelywith a fixed confidence level for the reference positions of theparticular serving Cell-ID.

An uncertainty level associated with the reference positions of theparticular serving Cell-ID may be determined based on the capturedlocation information from the plurality of mobile devices associatedwith the location server 140. For example, the uncertainty levelassociated with the reference positions of the particular servingCell-ID may be re-computed when the captured location information suchas a GNSS position fix and/or timing advance (TA) parameter associatedwith a mobile device in the corresponding cell changes. In instanceswhere the particular serving Cell-ID may be unknown to the locationserver 300, the processor 302 may be enabled to acquire subscriberpopulation density centroid of an associated MCC from, for example, thewireless communication network 130. The processor 302 may be enabled todetermine reference positions of the associated MCC based on theacquired subscriber population density centroid of the associated MCC.

The positioning database 304 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,and/or code that may be operable to manage and/or store data comprisingreference positions and/or location information that is captured,determined and/or learned from a plurality of mobile devices associatedwith the location server 300. In this regard, the positioning database304 may be enabled to provide the captured; determined and/or learnedlocation information to the processor 302 to determine and/or refinereference positions associated with a particular Cell-ID and/or aparticular MCC. The contents in the positioning database 304 may beupdated as a needed base or periodically.

The memory 306 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code thatmay enable storing of information such as executable instructions thatmay be utilized by the processor 302. The executable instructions maycomprise algorithms that may be enabled to determine and/or refinereference positions associated with a particular cell such as the cell110 based on the captured location information stored in the positioningdatabase 304. The memory 306 may comprise RAM, ROM, low latencynonvolatile memory such as flash memory and/or other suitable electronicdata storage.

In operation, various location information from a plurality of mobiledevices associated with the location server 140 may be captured,determined and/or learned via the processor 302. The processor 302 maybe enabled to determine and/or refine reference positions associatedwith a particular Cell-ID and/or a particular MCC based on the capturedlocation Information. In instances where reference positions associatedwith the GNSS enabled mobile device 200 may be requested, the processor302 may be enabled to communicate with the positioning database 304 toacquire the captured location information from the plurality of mobiledevices associated with the location server 300. The processor 302 maybe enabled to determine and/or refine corresponding reference positionsusing various algorithms stored in the memory 306 based on the acquiredcaptured location information. The determined or refined referencepositions of the particular Cell-ID or the particular MCC may becommunicated with a served mobile device such as the GNSS enabled mobiledevice 200 for various LBS applications supported by the LBS applicationserver 160.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary call flow that illustrates exemplary determininga position of a mobile communication device using location information,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4,the exemplary steps start with step 402, where a particular mobiledevice such as the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c within the cell 110 mayrequest associated reference positions from the location server 140. TheGNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may be enabled to generate location dataand provide to the location server 140. The generated location data maycomprise GNSS-based location data comprising associated GNSS positionfixes, and/or may be non-GNSS-based location data comprising servingCell-ID, neighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, associated TAparameters, and/or associated MCC. For example, the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c may provide a particular serving Cell-ID such as the Cell-IDof the cell 110, neighbor Cell-IDs such as the Cell-ID associated withthe cell 120, and/or an associated MCC.

In step 404, the location server 140 may be enabled to determine and/orrefine reference positions associated with, for example, the particularserving Cell-ID, based on location information captured or learnedrelated to the particular serving Cell-ID from the GNSS enabledcell,-phone 110 c as well as other mobile devices such as the GNSSenabled notebook computer 110 b and the GNSS enabled smart phone 120 aassociated with the location server 140. In step 406, the locationserver 140 may communicate the determined or refined reference positionsto the GNSS enable cell phone 110 c via the wireless communicationnetwork 130. In step 408, the GNSS enable cell phone 110 c may beenabled to determine an associated position fix based on the receivedrefined reference positions, accordingly. The determined associatedposition fix may be utilized to enable a LBS application provided by theLBS server 160.

FIG. 5 Is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for dynamicallycomputing an uncertainty level with a fixed confidence level for aCell-ID based mobile positioning, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the exemplary steps start with step502, where the location server 140 may receive location information froma served mobile device such as, for example, the GNSS enabled cell phone110 c. The received location information comprise a serving Cell-ID forthe cell that the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c is attached as well as aGNSS position fix associated with the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c. TheGNSS position fix may be calculated based on GNSS signals from the GNSSsatellites 170 a through 170 c.

In step 504, it may be determined whether the received position fix iswithin a current uncertainty level of a current average of latitude andlongitude (Lat, Lon) associated with the received serving Cell-ID in thepositioning database 304. In instances where the received position fixis within the current uncertainty level of the current average of thelatitude and longitude associated with the received serving Cell-ID inthe positioning database 304, then in step 512, the received locationinformation from the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may be stored in thepositioning database 304.

In step 504, in instances where the received position fix is outside thecurrent uncertainty level of the current average of the latitude andlongitude associated with the received serving Cell-ID in thepositioning database 304, then in step 506, the location server 140 maybe enabled to compute an average of the latitude and longitudeassociated with the received serving Cell-ID based on locationinformation captured or learned from the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 cas well as other served mobile devices associated with the locationserver 140.

In step 508, the location server 140 may be enabled to compute anuncertainty level of the computed average of the latitude and longitudewith a fixed confidence level.

In step 510, the current average of the latitude and longitude andcurrent uncertainty level associated with the received serving Cell-IDmay be updated with the computed average of the latitude and longitudeand the computed uncertainty level, respectively. The exemplary stepsreturn to the step 502.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for refininguncertainty level with a fixed confidence level for a Cell-ID basedpositioning based on reported timing advance, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6, the exemplary stepsstart with step 602, where the location server0 may receive locationinformation from a served mobile device such as the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c within the cell 110. The received location information maycomprise timing advance parameter associated with a serving Cell-10corresponding to the cell 110.

In step 604, the location server 140 may be enabled to extract thetiming advance parameter from the received location information. In step606, the location server 140 may be enabled to determine the latitudeand longitude associated with the serving Cell-ID based on the extractedtiming advance parameter.

In step 608, it may be determined whether the determined (Lat, Lon)associated with the serving Cell-ID is within a current uncertaintylevel of a current average of the latitude and longitude associated withthe serving Cell-10 in the positioning database 304. In instances wherethe determined latitude and longitude associated with the servingCell-ID is within the current uncertainty level of the current averageof the latitude and longitude associated with the serving Cell-ID in thepositioning database 304, then in step 614, where the location server140 may be enabled to store the determined latitude and longitudeassociated with the serving Cell-ID into the positioning database 304.The exemplary process continues in step 602.

In step 608, in Instances where the determined (Lat, Lon) associatedwith the serving Cell-ID is outside of the current uncertainty level ofthe current average of the latitude and longitude associated with theserving Cell-ID in the positioning database 304, then in step 610, thelocation server 140 may be enabled to compute an average bf the latitudeand longitude associated with the serving Cell-10 based on thedetermined latitude and longitude and contributions from other mobiledevices associated with the location server 140.

In step 612, the location server 140 may be operable to refine or updatethe current average of the latitude and longitude associated with theserving Cell-ID and corresponding current uncertainty level In thepositioning database 302 with the computed average of the latitude andlongitude and the computed uncertainty level, respectively. Theexemplary process continues in step 602.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for providingCell-ID based mobile positioning based on reported neighbor cellfingerprinting, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 7, the exemplary steps start with step 702, where thelocation server 140 may receive location information from a servedmobile device such as the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c within the cell110. The received location information may comprise fingerprints of oneor more neighbor cells such as the cell 120 in vicinity of the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c. The fingerprints of the one or more neighborcells may comprise signal strength, signal time delay, or even channelimpulse response measured for signals from neighbor cells at the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c. In this regard, the fingerprints of the one ormore neighbor cells may comprise of signals measured from GSM, UMTS,and/or CDMA 2000. In step 704, the location server 140 may be enabled tostore the received location information in the positioning database 302.In step 706, it may be determined whether the GNSS enabled cell phone110 c may request reference positions. In instances where the GNSSenabled cell phone 110 c may request reference positions, then in step708, where the location server 140 may be enabled to compute an averageof the latitude and longitude associated with the serving cell based onlocation information captured or learned from each of served mobiledevices associated with the location server 140 for the serving cell. Instep 710, the location server 140 may be enabled to compute anuncertainty level of the computed average of the latitude and longitudewith a fixed confidence level.

In step 712, based on the received fingerprints of the one or moreneighbor cells in vicinity of the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c, thelocation server 140 may be enabled to determine reference subpositionswithin the serving cell for the computed uncertainty level. In step 714,the location server 140 may be enabled to send a response comprising thedetermined reference subpositions to the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c.The exemplary steps continue in step 702. In step 706, in instanceswhere the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c may not request referencepositions, then the exemplary process returns to step 702.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for determining aposition of a mobile communication device based on combined MCC andsubscriber population centroid, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 8, the exemplary steps start with step 802,where the location server 140 may receive a reference position requestfrom the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c. The received reference positionrequest comprises a particular MCC that the GNSS enabled cell phone 110c is associated with. In step 804, it may be determined whether aserving Cell-ID associated with the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c isknown at the location server 140. In instances where the serving Cell-IDassociated with the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c is unknown at thelocation server 140, then in step 806, where the location server 140 maybe enabled to acquire subscriber population density centroid of theparticular MCC. In step 808, the location server 140 may be enabled todetermine reference positions associated with the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c within the particular MCC based on the acquired subscriberpopulation density centroid. In step 812, the location server 140 maycommunicate the determined reference positions to the GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c. In step 804, in instances where the serving Cell-IDassociated with the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c is known at thelocation server 140, then in step 810, where the location server 140 maybe enabled to determine and provide reference positions associated withthe GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c based on various Cell-ID basedpositioning methods. The exemplary process may continue in step 812.

Aspects of a method and system for determining a position or location ofa mobile communication device are provided. In accordance with variousexemplary embodiments of the invention, a mobile device such as, forexample, the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c, may be enabled to generateGNSS-based location data and non-GNSS based location data and transmit acombination of the generated GNSS-based location data and non-GNSS basedlocation data to the location server 140 for more accurate referencepositions. The location server 140 may be enabled to determine referencepositions based on the transmitted combination of the generated GNSSbased location data and non-GNSS based location data. The determinedreference positions may be communicated to the GNSS enabled cell phone110 c via the wireless communication network 130. The GNSS enabled cellphone 110 c may be enabled to receive the determined reference positionsfrom the location server 140 to calculate an associated GNSS positionfix. The generated GNSS-based location data may comprise GNSS positionfixes associated with the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c. The generatednon-GNSS based location data may comprise a serving Cell-ID, one or moreneighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, timing advanceparameters, and/or a mobile country code. The neighbor cell fingerprintmay comprise signal strength, signal time delay, and/or a channelimpulse response measured for signals from the one or more neighborcells at the GNSS enabled cell phone 110 c.

The location server 140 may be enabled to acquire and/or learn locationinformation associated with the serving Cell-ID from the GNSS enabledcell phone 110 c as well as other served mobile devices associated withthe location server 140. The location server 140 may be enabled todetermine and/or refine reference positions based on the acquiredlocation information. As described with respect to, for example, FIG. 4through FIG. 7, the location server 140 may be enabled to determineand/or refine reference positions in various ways such as, for example,by correlating he serving Cell-ID with GNSS position fixes, timingadvance parameters, and/or neighbor cell fingerprinting. For example,referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the location server 140 may be enabledto, adaptively compute an uncertainty level with a fixed confidence ofthe determined and/or refined reference positions. The uncertainty levelmay be determined based on the acquired location information such asGNSS position fixes and/or timing advance parameters associated with theserving Cell-ID. Referring to FIG. 7, to respond a reference positionrequest from the GNSS enable cell phone 110 c without an associatedserving Cell-ID, the location server 140 may be configured to Identifysubscriber population density of an associated mobile country code (MCC)via the wireless communication network 130. The combination of theidentified subscriber population density and the associated MCC may beutilized to determine corresponding reference positions associated withthe GNSS enable cell phone 110 c.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/orcomputer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, amachine code and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for a methodand system for determining a position of a mobile communication device.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware- andsoftware may be a general purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an Informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1-22. (canceled)
 23. A mobile device comprising: a satellite signalprocessor operable to process satellite-based location data; and amobile communication processor operable to: transmit the satellite basedlocation data and non-satellite based location data to a locationserver; receive from the location server, a determined referenceposition based on the satellite based location data, the non-satellitebased location data, and an uncertainty level, wherein the uncertaintylevel is adapted according to the non-satellite based location data; andcalculate a position fix for the mobile device based on the referenceposition.
 24. The mobile device according to claim 23, wherein thesatellite based location data comprises position fixes associated withthe mobile device.
 25. The mobile device according to claim 23, whereinthe satellite based location data comprises a serving Cell-ID, one ormore neighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, timing advanceparameters, and/or a mobile country code.
 26. The mobile deviceaccording to claim 25, wherein the neighbor cell fingerprinting isassociated with the one or more neighbor Cell-IDs.
 27. A method ofprocessing signals, the method comprising: transmitting satellite basedlocation data and non-satellite based location data to a locationserver; receiving from the location server, a determined referenceposition based on the satellite based location data, the non-satellitebased location data, and an uncertainty level, wherein the uncertaintylevel is adapted according to the non-satellite based location data; andcalculating a position fix for the mobile device based on the referenceposition.
 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the transmittedGNSS-based location data comprises GNSS position fixes associated withthe GNSS enabled mobile device.
 29. The method according to claim 27,wherein the transmitted non-GNSS based location data comprises a servingCell-ID, one or more neighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting,timing advance parameters, and/or a mobile country code.
 30. The methodaccording to claim 29, wherein the neighbor cell fingerprinting isassociated with the one or more neighbor Cell-IDs.
 31. The methodaccording to claim 29, wherein the location server acquires locationinformation associated with the serving Cell-ID from the GNSS enabledmobile device and other mobile devices associated with the locationserver.
 32. The method according to claim 29, wherein the locationserver adaptively computes the uncertainty level with a fixed confidencelevel of the determined reference position based on the satellite basedlocation data and the non-satellite based location data associated withthe serving Cell-ID.
 33. The method according to claim 29, wherein thelocation server refines the determined reference position based on theacquired location information associated with the serving Cell-ID. 34.The method according to claim 29, wherein the location server determinesone or more reference subpositions associated with the serving Cell-IDbased on the neighbor cell fingerprinting.
 35. The method according toclaim 34, wherein the location server communicates the determined one ormore reference subpositions associated with the serving Cell-ID to theGNSS enabled mobile device.
 36. The method according to claim 27,wherein the location server identifies subscriber population densityassociated with the mobile country code.
 37. The method according toclaim 36, wherein the location server determines the reference positionbased on the mobile country code and identified subscriber populationdensity associated with the mobile country code.
 38. A system forprocessing signals, the system comprising: a location server operableto: receive satellite based location data and non-satellite basedlocation data from a mobile station; determine a reference positionaccording to the satellite based location data and the non-satellitebased location data; and determine an uncertainty level that is adaptedaccording to the non-satellite based location data, wherein thereference position and the uncertainty level enable the mobile stationto calculate a position fix.
 39. The system according to claim 38,wherein the location server adaptively computes the uncertainty levelwith a fixed confidence level based on location information frommultiple sources.
 40. The system according to claim 38, wherein thelocation server identifies subscriber population density associated witha mobile country code.
 41. The system according to claim 40, wherein thelocation server determines the reference position based on thesubscriber population density.
 42. The system according to claim 38,wherein the satellite based location data comprises a serving Cell-ID,one or more neighbor Cell-IDs, neighbor cell fingerprinting, timingadvance parameters, and/or a mobile country code.